So I'm about to sign a lease to a 3 br 2 bth house that's really close to work and is in a good area. The rent is 1700 a month, for a year long lease which is then month to month after that. Even though it says that it's a 3 bedroom, you can comfortably fit about 4 people in the house. My thinking is to sublease the 3 other rooms out to people and have them pay me. The rent for all the rooms will cover the cost of the rent for the house plus utilities so I hardly pay anything to live there. I've checked everything out with the owner of the property and he's totally fine with me subleasing to other people.

I justify living pretty much rent free by having my name in everything: the lease, and utilities. So all responsibility is on me. This also gives me exposure to property management for whenever I decide to buy myself a house and rent out the rooms. I do feel partially shitty about having everyone else carry the cost, but hey, it's just business right?

I'm mystified. Why would you think that providing rooms at market rate to willing renters makes you a dick? Are the prospective renters close friends or family under the impression that you're sharing equally? Is this some kind of collective? Why would it be their business what you're paying or making on the deal?

If you bought a house and rented out rooms, would you feel obligated to charge only your actual expenses minus what you'd pay to rent somewhere?

Responding to your question might be easier if you explain what makes you concerned about this.

Responding to your question might be easier if you explain what makes you concerned about this.

I guess my thinking is that it would cause my renters to feel slightly taken advantage of. I mean I'm only 23 and my renters are in there late 20s early 30s so I could imagine they might become irritated at the fact I'm basically living for free while they pay my rent.

However, I also realize that it's just business, and if that's the way they feel, then fine. Your point sums up this perspective well.

So far things have been pretty quite, and I haven't been doing all that much except continuing my self education in programming.

The housing situation:
I've managed to have all the rooms rented out in the house I'm staying in. My total rent expense is $50 a month....not too bad haha. 2 of my 4 tenets have moved into the house, and so far things seem to be going well as far as everyone getting along. I tend to be a bit of a mom as I do find myself doing little things like turning off the lights in unoccupied rooms from time to time. The other 2 tenets (a couple) will be moving in sometime next month, and so I'll have to wait and see how everything goes once they settle in.

The Job:
Working with my cousin has been great so far. I enjoy he's insights and business/programming know how; although, he can be a bit unorganized, but I guess I would be too when I've got a ton of things going on and work to do. He's been pretty helpful in guiding me along my programming education, giving me pointers, books to read, and things to look for in the business of software.

The education process can be a bit of a slug at times, but for the most part I find it fun and challenging. It's a great feeling when you've been working on a problem for a week, and then it suddenly works one day.

I started programming in Python about 2 or 3 months ago, and I'm now getting to the point where I'm learning OOP, which is pretty difficult to wrap my head around. I'm guessing it's going to take me a while to fully understand the concept.

Some things that have been on my mind:

-Some of my friends and family have been harping me about being single, and not getting out enough (it's been about 3 years since my last relationship). This is kind of annoying, and also a little concerning. On one hand, I'm fully focused on developing my skills in order to feel more secure about bringing in income. On the other, I worry about taking things a little too serious and neglecting my youth. My current thinking/ strategy to this issue is to just have a balance between the two. Whenever there is an opportunity to go out and meet people (females in particular) I'll take it, but I'm not going out of my way in order to find a potential companion.

-Close friends are too absorbed in consumerism. The other day I had some of my good friends help me move furniture in my house, but for the majority of the time they would talk about the video game that we often play together. I do enjoy their company, and playing games with them from time to time, but they seem to take it a bit too serious -gaming in general. They talk about the latest games, consoles, computer hardware, etc.
and I could care less. As much as I enjoy computers, I don't really care about games or the latest hardware. I've been meaning to cut out more gaming from my time so that I could do things I'm more interested in, but this would also mean less time spent with my friends.

This also goes with overall consumption in general. I've become more and more anti consumption, and thinking of ways to save, all while my friends have been moving in the more traditional consumer pathway: go to work, come home, watch TV/play games, sleep, repeat///get car loan, rent traditional, overpriced, apartment in traditional 'safe' community, blah, blah, blah

The housing situation:
I've managed to have all the rooms rented out in the house I'm staying in. My total rent expense is $50 a month....not too bad haha. 2 of my 4 tenets have moved into the house, and so far things seem to be going well as far as everyone getting along. I tend to be a bit of a mom as I do find myself doing little things like turning off the lights in unoccupied rooms from time to time. The other 2 tenets (a couple) will be moving in sometime next month, and so I'll have to wait and see how everything goes once they settle in.

Nice work. Your savings should skyrocket now. If you have a couple living there they should be paying much more so another reason for you to pay less.

Nice work. Your savings should skyrocket now. If you have a couple living there they should be paying much more so another reason for you to pay less.

Thanks, yeah I rigged it to where they pay a small premium due to them being a couple. Everyone is getting a great deal (at least in my mind) the rooms are priced below market rate, and it's enough to cover almost the entire rent.

I've still got to get health insurance (I've been putting it off since I left my last job). The lowest I've seen so far is $164/month at a $7,000 deductible.
My car insurance is super cheap at $83/month
Student loan payments should kick in soon at $300 :/ (Question: should I do a graduated payment starting at $200, or should I stay with the standard at $300? My main goal is to be able to pay off my student loans within a year in a half.)

I live 10 min. from work so gas should last me for quite awhile
Need to keep food costs low and try to refrain from buying useless things.

Great news on finding some renters. If/when we move back to the US, we may look at doing something like what you've done in order to save on rent as well! If you could get a garden setup, then you could easily cut what for most is the two biggest expenses in the US: rent and food. And your savings rate would be ridiculous.

As for student loans - what type are they? I have more or less decided to not pay mine off with any haste, instead I've enrolled in a pay as you earn plan. I pay a monthly payment based on my income (currently paying $0/month) for 20 years. Interest does not capitalize during this period, and in year 20 I pay income tax based on the forgiven amount.

This method doesn't save much as far as total paid (maybe 10-15k), but it does make a difference in reaching ERE. If I were to spend the $40-50k to pay off my loans now, it would take me 2-3 years, and I would have no savings by the end of it. Instead, I can start dumping money into my ERE pot now, rather than later.

Important to note that most people commenting in my journal suggested I do the opposite of this, and pay them off now.

Great news on finding some renters. If/when we move back to the US, we may look at doing something like what you've done in order to save on rent as well! If you could get a garden setup, then you could easily cut what for most is the two biggest expenses in the US: rent and food. And your savings rate would be ridiculous.

As for student loans - what type are they? I have more or less decided to not pay mine off with any haste, instead I've enrolled in a pay as you earn plan. I pay a monthly payment based on my income (currently paying $0/month) for 20 years. Interest does not capitalize during this period, and in year 20 I pay income tax based on the forgiven amount.

This method doesn't save much as far as total paid (maybe 10-15k), but it does make a difference in reaching ERE. If I were to spend the $40-50k to pay off my loans now, it would take me 2-3 years, and I would have no savings by the end of it. Instead, I can start dumping money into my ERE pot now, rather than later.

Important to note that most people commenting in my journal suggested I do the opposite of this, and pay them off now.

It's too early for me to say the route I'm taking is either good or bad, but so far it seems to be working out really well. I think the main thing is trying to find an owner who would be willing to have a tenet who would sublease the other rooms out.

For my loans, they are your standard government loans with an interest rate of 4.3%
I also have the option of putting off my loans, but I'm not too sure that would be a good idea for me. Although, I understand what you mean by establishing some type of ERE pot before you start chopping away at your student loans.

I use an excel spreadsheet to project my ERE date. I have a variable that I can turn on or off. When set to 0, it calculates my monthly loan payments based on my income. When set to anything from >0 to 1, it puts money that would normally go to savings/finances towards my student loans instead. 1 = everything goes to student loans. .5 equals have goes to student loans. In every scenario, except for earning more than $90,000/year, I reach ERE faster, with more money in the tank than if I were to put any amount greater than minimum payments towards student loans.

And just to clarify, I am not establishing a pot before chopping away - I am just not chopping away at all. I am waiting for the forgiveness period, where the amount forgiven will be listed as taxable income for that tax year.

I can share the charts here if you want or in a PM. Actually, I may start a separate thread in the relevant forum. For now I can just show you the line for the year, with scenario 1 being wait for forgiveness, and scenario 2 being pay off now, with ERE in 2023 regardless.

Nice work. Your savings should skyrocket now. If you have a couple living there they should be paying much more so another reason for you to pay less.

Thanks, yeah I rigged it to where they pay a small premium due to them being a couple. Everyone is getting a great deal (at least in my mind) the rooms are priced below market rate, and it's enough to cover almost the entire rent.

I've still got to get health insurance (I've been putting it off since I left my last job). The lowest I've seen so far is $164/month at a $7,000 deductible.
My car insurance is super cheap at $83/month
Student loan payments should kick in soon at $300 :/ (Question: should I do a graduated payment starting at $200, or should I stay with the standard at $300? My main goal is to be able to pay off my student loans within a year in a half.)

I live 10 min. from work so gas should last me for quite awhile
Need to keep food costs low and try to refrain from buying useless things.

I cant believe you think $83 per month car insurance is cheap/ I used to pay something like $12 for third party only. If you live so close to work have you thought about just selling your car? Another big savings boost from the sounds of things.

Over the past few years I've started to realize how much better I am at something if I just teach myself how to do it. For the past 3 or so months I've been teaching myself programming. When I started I didn't know anything, other than the gist of what they do and the different types. I started by learning SQL, which reads a lot like English and was pretty easy to follow, and then I went onto Python. I went from the basics of creating a webpage to a full fledged web app that can import data into a full size database (SQL Server) and display all that data within the web app in a table...all with python and Flask. It was definitely a slow process(due to starting with the fundamentals of programming logic) but that feeling I got when I finally figured out how to export data to the database via a web form was great.

Doing this has reminded me how much fun and rewarding it is to teach yourself something fairly difficult with no help other than books and the internet. This has also inspired me into learning other fields in STEM. I'd really like to get into math and logic to start building up a base knowledge that will allow me to have strong reasoning skill, and a basic understanding how the world works....at least scientifically.

The thought of being ERE and having the time to develop these skills is very appealing.

Here are some random updates and a few quick thoughts that have been crossing my mind lately.

Updates:
1. My housing situation with roommates has been going well so far, so I don't have any complaints. I do think that my roommates have figured out that I'm living close to nothing though, but I don't think it bothers them too much because they are getting a great deal too....I just happen to be getting an even better deal.

2. We have signed a new client for the business, and are expecting more work to come our way. Finally a good opportunity for me to put what I have been learning so far to good use.

3. Decided to buy an actual bed after sleeping on the floor for the past few months. I haven't had any back pain, but I've noticed some changes in how my spine now feels bonier than usual....I could just be loosing my mind, but idk. I'm also tired of have little bugs and spiders on my mat. I'm just getting a simple twin size frame that I can store stuff underneath, as well as a nice mattress.

4. Planning on getting a larger desk and a herman miller chair in order to make work from home more comfortable...don't want to end up like a hunch back.

5. Went rock climbing with a few of my roommates who rock climb at a gym on a regular basis. It was quite a workout requiring a great deal of tendon strength. I'm considering a membership there and building up my strength, plus it's also really fun. Although, I've also considered BJJ...which could probably be more useful.

Random Thoughts

1. On some occasions I get very lonesome and depressed, and feel as though I have no sense of purpose... I think the main cause of this is due to my inability to find a decent partner. I'm currently on 3 different dating apps and none of them have matched me to either a girl I find attractive or a girl who I can actually have a conversation with. I mean not to toot my own horn or anything but I would say that I am an above average looking guy, with a good physic. I do much better with girls (I know they are attracted to me) when I'm actually present. I've even had some girls comment on my looks. So I have no clue what the deal is, but it's really frustrating.

2. I have been getting angry and frustrated at why I can't seem to lighten up when being amoungst a group of people. I get very quite and tend to just take things in rather than have a conversation with the group. I can't seem to be my full self...maybe because in some aspects I'm not proud of who I am as a person

3. It helps me to focus on how I'm going to help grow the business, and how to sharpen my programming skills so I don't feel quite as apathetic about life. This quote also helps: "The literal meaning of life is whatever you're doing that prevents you from killing yourself" -Camus

4. I like to think about strategies on obtaining wealth...because it seems as though so much of our stupid lives revolves around it. Listening to some of my very liberal (not that I care) roommates talk about how money is bad, and how they will be much more 'fulfilled' by teaching college students sounds ridiculous. All jobs suck...that's why they pay us to do them, and why they call it a job. Most professors I ever knew looked miserable and seemed to hate their jobs. So for me the biggest goal is to pay off debts, save like a mofo, buy low and sell high, expand my wealth and influence (it can be bought) and live as best of a miserable life as I can...maybe even get a beautiful trophy wife and have a few kids just to make things more interesting...maybe start my very own family dynasty lol

5. Watching the rich get richer and the poor grobble at the scraps is sad. What's even more sad is listening to the poor bitch and complain about how unfair everything is but also aspire to gain the same position as the rich. It's always been like this. The rich do everything in their power to maintain their wealth but try to make it seem like they care about the little people (maybe they do a little), and the little people hate the wealthy and all that they stand for, yet do all they can to gain it and become wealthy themselves...but deny any of their desire to be rich..an endless cycle. There are those rare people out there who actually don't give a shit about money and don't actually use it because they live in the wilderness...but those are rare butterflies and I'm not one of those.

6. Globalization is stupid and bound to fail eventually. Cultures don't really mesh together, they just put up with one another. Humans are animals, and just like animals we stick to our own 'packs'. Whites with whites, blacks with blacks, etc.. now sure we are all a great and happy family when we deal with one another one on one, but you don't see a bunch of asians chillin with a bunch of blacks....just not going to happen..why?...because people like being with people who are like themselves. But, who knows, maybe people will grow out of this after several generations..but that will be after we're all dead. If you don't believe me, try being the only person of your race and go to a club or bar filled with people of another race...how comfortable are you now?

6. Globalization is stupid and bound to fail eventually. Cultures don't really mesh together, they just put up with one another. Humans are animals, and just like animals we stick to our own 'packs'. Whites with whites, blacks with blacks, etc.. now sure we are all a great and happy family when we deal with one another one on one, but you don't see a bunch of asians chillin with a bunch of blacks....just not going to happen..why?...because people like being with people who are like themselves. But, who knows, maybe people will grow out of this after several generations..but that will be after we're all dead. If you don't believe me, try being the only person of your race and go to a club or bar filled with people of another race...how comfortable are you now?

Well, the trend of things seems to point to traditional cultures melding or being forgotten. Now more than ever people with racial differences are mixing together [citation needed]. "Globalization" includes the Internet and allowed for new cultural groups to form or find each other. It may be that you identify most with people who are into Beyonce or anime and not people with the same skin tone or geographical location as you. You are more likely to find cool people that you like (i.e. "who are like themselves") online (and eventually try to meet in person) than in your closest urban center.

Running and Rings
Over the past couple of months I've been running off and on, mostly 2 and 3 miles at a fast pace. I've recently gotten a lot more into running and working out in general. I'll be running a 5k this weekend and hope to finish in the top 5 if I can, or better. I've started working out with rings again, and am looking forward to building a great physic with a ton of upper body strength.

Old Cars
My 1996 Ford Ranger is still holding up, but I've been talking with a co-worker who has been pushing me into old cars. He buys and sells old cars (more so flips them) and he does pretty much all the work himself. I'm wondering whether I'd want to buy an older car and learn how to work on it myself, or just get a fuel efficient car like a 2010 Honda FIt with a 4 cylinder engine? It would be cool as hell to drive around in a bad ass old car, but from a practical standpoint, I wonder if it's worth the hassle.

Parties
I went to a party last night with some of my roommates and I had a great time. Lots of dancing, drinking and weed. Probably the most fun I've had in a long time. Also, there were some really pretty girls there, but unfortunately the ones I liked were spoken for. Having a roommate that is a girl comes in handy and she can introduce me to her friends which I find the easiest way to meet girls, without having them think you're some kind of a creep. Gonna try to get out more, but I don't want to go to crazy with spending.

Spending
This month has been a terrible month for saving, in fact I don't think I saved anything for this month All I can do for the rest of the month is try not to spend anything. Most of my spending has been from upgrading my work space and room. I broke down and bought a really nice mattress finally, sleeping on the floor wasn't bad, but eh, I have my reasons. I plan on getting a few more things like a bigger desk for work and a nicer office chair that is easier on the back. Once I get settled in, I should be back to a very high savings rate.

Ketosis
I've watched a few videos, and read some articles about this and it looks interesting, but I'm not really convinced yet. If someone can share with me their experience with this I'm all ears. I'm not too interested in the losing weight part as I'm already in really good shape, but I am interested in the deep focus part. I also don't think it will do me well with my workout routine, I feel like I would not have the energy I need in order to complete my workouts.

Well it's October and nothing has really happen since. Business is continuing as usual, we have our first meeting with our new client this coming Wednesday so I'm really looking forward to that..I'm tired of sitting around the house and doing little work here and there it's pretty boring.

The learning process has been quite slow; mostly due to not really having a goal to work towards, and I have been lacking in motivation to learn.

Met a nice girl at a party. I'm not really into her all that much, but it's nice to hang out and bang.

Savings rate has been fluctuating between 50 and 70 percent due to random events and going out to eat with friends.

I've been playing video games way too much these past few weeks so I need to figure out a way to ween myself off of them and apply my efforts towards something more worthwhile. Hopefully working with our new client will inspire me to continue educating myself.

Starting to realize that life is actually pretty boring when you step back and look at it as a whole. It's the tiny pleasures and victories that make it interesting...like realizing there is an extra beer in the fridge when you thought you were fresh out. Out of this I get worrisome and confused on what I want to do with my life. In one vision, I can see myself settling down, and living like a normal nuclear family in a nice neighborhood, and on the other I sometimes think I might end up alone but able to travel extensively with all the freedom. I'm not sure which would be suitable for me....although the more likely case is that nothing is predetermined and it just sorta happens...I guess that's what makes things interesting...the endless amounts of possibilities and hope for something good to happen

...If someone can share with me their experience with this I'm all ears. I'm not too interested in the losing weight part as I'm already in really good shape, but I am interested in the deep focus part. I also don't think it will do me well with my workout routine, I feel like I would not have the energy I need in order to complete my workouts.

I have done the warrior diet every day for 10 months (you eat once every 20-24 hours, but you eat as much as you want when you do eat). I'm a full time manual labourer andI exercise 6 days week.

The last two months, I have not done the warrior diet. I miss it. I'm going back to it (it's been a week since I started again and I'm loving it). The focus you have when your 18 hours into a fast vs. the focus you have when you're eating every 3-4 hours is day and night. It's noticeable. You stop getting hunger pangs at approximately hour 12-14, and that's when the focus floods in, and doesn't stop. But it depends on what you're doing, who you are, etc. Physical tasks under ketosis aren't noticeable once you're used to it. I think navigating social interactions gets a little harder, but I'm an INTJ and I avoid chit chat with other people anyway (the perks of working in a factory; no one cares if you're the silent type ).

When I'm on my last break at work, I get to read for 15 minutes (it's also at this point that I'm at hour 18 without food). Reading in this time is like walking into a dark room, and it's just you and the glow of your e-reader, even though there's ten other guys in the room that reeks of Mi Goreng fighting over whether Pete really knows someone in the Mafia or not. I don't know how to describe it in a palatable way, so I think you should just commit to doing it for 14 days and find out for yourself. The first three or four days are tough, but after that it's easy (in my experience).

I'm going to try and start making monthly reports in order to keep things consistent, and to also for self documentation.

October- November Updates:
-Tons of medical spending: not all that great in the savings, put away a little over a grand this past month. Most of my expenses are coming from medical. I've been having some crazy anxiety these past several months and it's been an absolute pain dealing with it. I think I'm starting to get a handle on it but man I've been getting crazy symptoms. This in of itself can be a journal entry so I'm not going into details.

-Programming: I've been getting better, as I'm starting to understand how it all works. I'm able to write fairly simple programs and scripts. I'm understanding OOP more, but it's still a beast of topic to wrap my head around, however it has helped me with thinking more logical in everyday life. For the record I've been learning to program for about 8 or 9 months. There are moments where I get a little board, but for the most part I find it very fun. Having a problem and thinking through it logically, and then implementing a solution is fun.

-A growing interest in Math and Guitar: I've recently grown more interested in these two topics over several months. Guitar because it gives me a creative outlet, and some peace of mind. I've been listening to a lot of Tool (if you don't know this band, you should give them a try) which has sparked my desire to play even more. Math has been growing on me for several months, it wasn't until I got out of college where I started to fully appreciate math. I like to think of it as a philosophy - a way of explaining things. I also like how it can be applied to solve almost any problem. Therefore, I've been making moves to re-tool myself for a self study in mathematics by going through the Khan Academy videos. If anyone has any advice on self studying math lemme know!

-Cars: I plan to drive my truck to the ground, but I feel like that day may come sooner that I think. I've been going back and forth on whether I want a decent honda fit for about 5 grand, or get a classic...like a 60s ford falcon and learn how to work on it. I'm leaving several details out, but just figured I'd throw that out there.

-Vegan: I'm experimenting with this diet. I've watched a few documentaries on this and it's intrigued me. Groceries are cheaper which is nice, but trying to figure out vegan recipes that I like has been a little bit of a challenge.

-Tons of medical spending: not all that great in the savings, put away a little over a grand this past month. Most of my expenses are coming from medical. I've been having some crazy anxiety these past several months and it's been an absolute pain dealing with it. I think I'm starting to get a handle on it but man I've been getting crazy symptoms. This in of itself can be a journal entry so I'm not going into details.

I have had anxiety before. It sucks. Bigtime. However have you tried doing an abundance of exercise? I always found that helped to get rid of it. As well as avoidance of alcohol.